As Toronto (ON) continues to debate smart card options, greater Vancouver’s TransLink (BC) is moving forward with its own plans and expects to have a new fare payment system in place by 2013. According to The Globe and Mail, the agency plans to install an “off-the-shelf” system for about $80 million, far less than the cost of deploying the PRESTO Card throughout the Greater Toronto Area. That comparison doesn’t tell the whole story, however. GTA’s transit market is about three times larger than Vancouver’s and TransLink will spend about $90 million to install fare gates at its Skytrain stations. TransLink is keeping its options open and told potential bidders to ensure that the system can be adapted to an open payment system in the future. But for now, the agency is sticking with tried-and-true technology. “We didn’t want to be the test bed,” said Fred Cummings, vice president of engineering and implementation. Link to full story in The Globe and Mail.
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